The Basis Of Love
by rainieblack
Summary: The basis of love is trust, but Ellie is afraid of falling and Bucky doesn't know where to start. Their story begins when they meet in a cold alley in the outskirts of Washington D.C one day, and Bucky learns that love, happiness and healing can only begin when he allows himself to hope.
1. act one, scene one

**_act one, scene one;_**

**-**  
**_"_**_let me ache in peace,_**_"_**  
**-**

_Click_.

"Hi baby." Though her mom's voice was tinny and distant over Ellie's battered smartphone, the calm, _sotto_ voice that had been the only constant throughout her tumultuous childhood made the seven-year old girl in her long for the safety of her mother's arms.

"Things are going well here. Your _halmeoni's _hip is getting better everyday; yesterday, she even mustered up the energy to complain about store-bought kimchi even though I know she secretly likes it. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you; Hyejin gave birth a few days ago, a little baby girl. They named her Naeun, after her mother. I really have too much time on my hands nowadays, you know? I even made some of that apricot honey you love so much the other day."

There was a small pause, distant and crackly, and then, "Eunsol-_ah_, I know you said you would busy, but it's been a year, baby. I miss you. Please me call back if you receive this."

_Click_.

Ellie gripped the edge of the table, and closed her eyes as the voicemail began to play again. Her heart ached like she'd just been punched in the chest.

In the silence, her apartment never seemed any lonelier.


	2. act one, scene two

_**act one, scene two;**_

* * *

**-**  
**"**_through the darkness,_

_a hand reaches out,_

_and my lips find yours,_**"**

* * *

"Come in at seven tonight." Gina, the no-nonsense and terrifyingly gorgeous owner of _Le Fae, _a ritzy_, _high end club a few blocks down the street where Ellie worked, instructed crisply, and promptly cut the call before Ellie could get a word in. Ellie grimaced at her phone and reminded herself for what felt like the millionth time that she might not like Gina, but she definitely liked the money that Gina paid.

What else could she say? Ellie enjoyed the finer things in life, and expensive shoes didn't just pay for themselves.

Ellie glanced over at her fridge, debating over whether she should call for takeout or make an attempt to throw together a rudimentary soup with the k-mart kimchi she had left in the fridge.

_Cooking means washing up_, her inner spoiled brat piped up. Spoiled brat made a good point, Ellie conceded with a nod and punched in the number of her favorite Korean restaurant.

Then her common sense, which sounded suspiciously like her mom, said in a very judgmental voice, _"Isn't this the third time this week that you've called for takeout?"_

It was a Tuesday. Three times in two days was a little much, even for her. Shit, common sense made a good point too.

Ellie sat there for a while then sighed, slowly got up, and began pulling out the kimchi to make herself some lackluster soup.

Two hours later, Ellie was rushing to simultaneously put her slinky, exorbitant and completely overpriced black dress on, clip on her dangling earrings, and cursing her past self. Screw being healthy. She should have gotten the goddamn soup delivered to her place in the first place, because as it turned out, making kimchi soup took much longer than she had anticipated, and when she realized that she was behind her neatly planned schedule by twenty minutes, a mad scramble to get ready had ensued.

"Shit! Shit!" Ellie muttered, and completely abandoned her fruitless endeavor to twist her hair up into a semi-acceptable chignon for getting out of her house and into a cab.

The only plus side to being forced to abide by_ Le Fae_'s stringent black tie dress code was that it was basically impossible to not be noticed on the streets when she was in five inch Louboutins and an expensive dress, so in record time, Ellie had managed to hail a cab and was speeding her way towards the snazzy club downtown.

On the way, Ellie checked her phone anxiously, staring at the minutes ticking by as if it could make time slow down. She was very, very late, and Gina would be very, very unhappy.

The minutes ticked by quickly, but the taxi driver, an amiable man in his mid-forties had promised to get her to _Le Fae_ in ten minutes if she doubled his pay, and true to his words, Ellie was nodding at Alexandro and Markus, two hulking bouncers on shift for the night, hurrying through the glided doors and rushing to her dressing room for some last minute touch-ups.

Since Ellie considered being anything but an hour early as late and liked to clock in a good one hour before her shift started, she had all the time in the world to properly and painstakingly curl her hair into glamorous movie-star waves, dust her eyes with smoky eye shadow and paint her lips a bold, striking red in the privacy of her dressing room.

On of the reasons why _Le Fae _operated like a seamless machine was because the young and terrifyingly gorgeous Gina ran it with an iron fist. As long as the club was opening its doors, Gina would be there without fail to micromanage the hell out of everything before _Le Fae_ opened its doors for the the night.

Tonight, dressed in a burgundy red satin power suit and five inch stilettos that all but screamed _don't fuck with me_, Gina looked nothing but unruffled even after defusing two tantrums, replacing a suddenly malfunctioning audio system, and dealing with the missing casket of golden rum. She made it a point to visit the ever changing cast of performers every night in the common dressing room to soothe ruffled feathers and look out for any talents, and took special care to visit those with private dressing rooms to personally deliver succinct instructions accompanied with sweet falsities.

"Ellie, you look as fantastic as always. There have been no changes made to the songs lined up, and if there's nothing else, you're up for sound check in five."

Call her what you will, unfeeling, cold, critical, but Gina was nothing but efficient. She only spared a fleeting, almost dismissive smile at Ellie after she spoke and was already turning on her heel sweeping out of the room before Ellie could even get out of her seat.

After a cursory check in the mirror for any glaring flaws, and a quick spritz ofChanel Coco, Ellie quickly made her way from the dressing rooms to the raised platform at the front of the room.

Ellie pushed through the curtains, walked to the center of the stage and automatically began to adjust the tilt of the mic even though her hands were trembling at the thought of being scrutinised by evryone. It was a little funny to think that even after two years, Ellie was still nervous at the prospect of standing on the stage.

She took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down, but nothing could stop her heart from attempting to jackrabbit pit of her chest. The toe-curling sensation of being at the center of attention, the sweat gathering in her palms, the shaking of her hands, never went away, no matter how many times she stood on the stage to perform.

But then the lights came on and the first strains of music started to float through the air, and everything, her fear, her anxiety, even the nauseating turn of her stomach, all dissipated into nothing.

The hours blurred together and slid away, and though Ellie got her scheduled fifteen minute break every two hours, her entire body ached from standing up the entire time and she felt completely wrung out at the end of her shift.

Ellie clocked out at two in the morning, stepping off the stage just as the last of the largely inebriated patrons began to filter out of the club. She sat in the common dressing area, too tired to make the trek back to her private room, removing glittering jewelry that would get her mugged if she walked on the streets alone, slipping out of her dress and into a cashmere sweater and high-waisted jeans, and kicking off her Louboutins in favor of comfortable sneakers, .

Her curled hair and face full of makeup contrasted against the simplicity of her clothes, and Kathy, one of the girls who accompanied the guests in _Le Fae_ and got them to spend lavish amounts of money on alcohol and finger food, told her so.

"You're gonna get yourself mugged, Ellie. Your clothes may say don't look at me, but your face says otherwise." Kathy said, genuine worry in her face, which was touching considering Ellie kept to herself most of the time and had said about five words to her since last week. Concern emitted from her in waves so palpable that Ellie could almost feel it in the air.

Ellie smiled at her sweetly, thanked the nice girl, murmured something about being able to take care of herself, shoved her things into a tote bag, and left. Kathy was very nice, and that was exactly why Ellie tried not to get too close. The last thing that she wanted was for Kathy to get hurt just by association alone.

"Take a cab home, okay? The streets aren't safe at night." Kathy called out as Ellie walked through the doors.

Ellie turned around and smiled at her. "You got it, boss."

It was sensible advice, and it wasn't the first time somebody told her that. Hell, Gina had said the exact same thing to her on her first day. The only problem was that _Le Fae_ was an extremely private place, and hardly any taxis passed by the area, so everyone who didn't have a car had to walk to the next street where there was a bigger road and a higher chance if taxis appearing. But it wasn't anything new. After all, Ellie had walked down the same street for almost two years now.

But it didn't matter how many times she had walked down the same street. The feeling of being watched and the fear of constantly being on edge never faded. Ellie gripped the straps of her tote bag tightly, trying to keep her head down and look as unobtrusive as humanly possible while she speed walked to the next street. For all that crap she had spouted to Kathy about being able to take care of herself, Ellie Kim was first-class coward who screamed whenever she saw cockroaches and got scared when she was left alone in the dark.

So far, things were going well. Ellie could see Kingston Street in the distance and only one person catcalled her tonight. All in all, Tuesday was shaping up to be pretty good day.

Then almost as if to spite her hopeful thoughts, Ellie heard it. Cruel, callous, the sound of mocking laughter filled the air. The sound of boots connecting harshly against flesh made her fists ball up.

Ellie stopped. The billboard in the distance beckoned enticingly to her. She could walk away. She _should_ walk away right now.

_It's not your business_, a voice that sounded like Kathy said sensibly. _Just walk away, Ellie, you will walk away right now because its none of your business._

Ellie stood there and waffled for a few precious seconds. Then, like an absolute idiot, she walked towards the trouble because she had zero sense of self-preservation.

Ellie may be a first-class coward, but, like her mother liked to say, she sure as hell was a first-class idiot too.

Ellie tried not to let herself think too much about what exactly she was going to do because she would definitely chicken out last minute. Best case scenario, Ellie would look like a major fool and get beat up. Worst case scenario, she would get raped and left to die in putrid rubbish.

"Hey guys!" Her voice came out too loud and panicked, but it got their attention all the same. Ellie took them in, four boys, and judging by their sweatshirts, probably fresh out of college and high on the thrill, decently built. They were definitely not a group of people Ellie could take on alone.

_Fuck, you're dumb as hell. Good luck not dying today, genius_.

Ellie glanced down quickly. The bulky shape of the homeless person, probably a man, judging by his size, was crumpled at their feet, hoodie pulled down low. She couldn't tell this far away if he was even breathing. Her heart rate spiked.

_Shit, focus, Ellie. _She could almost feel their hostility and lewd interest crawling on her skin and fought the urge to shiver. Ellie gave herself a good shake and drew a quick breath. _You can do this_. She gave them a faint, coy smile. Flirtation and diversion had never failed her before.

"Havin' fun boys?" Ellie said, as provocative as she could manage, tipping her head to the side and glancing at them through her lashes.

They shared a smile, knowing and secretive, and Ellie took a step closer, looking at the leader of the group in the eye, trying not to think too hard about anything at all.

"Why waste your night with some hobo when you can hang out with me and my friends instead?"

They murmured in agreement, dazed, almost and looked at each other.

"Hey there's a nice bar nearby, why don't I meet you there in two minutes, huh?" Ellie tried for her most convincing tone, praying for them to leave.

For the most part, it worked. Three of the boys stumbled away, but one of the remained, looking at her in dazed confusion.

"I'll see you there, handsome." Ellie gave him her coyest smile, giggled and nudged him away.

His wrinkled brows smoothed out and he left with his friends.

Ellie turned around to watch them leave and waited five seconds until their footsteps faded away. Her shoulders loosened slightly, and as the tension bled away, Ellie realized that she had been trembling throughout the entire encounter. Her heart was attempting to thump out of her chest, leaving her with the faint feeling of having dodged a bullet.

She turned around and dropped into a crouch in front of the man.

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" No answer. The man barely even moved, save the occasional rise and fall of his barrel like chest. The thought that he might be really hurt because she had hesitated struck her like a bomb.

Ellie's chest tightened, and she fought to keep herself rational. "Hey, are you awake? Do you want me to call 911?" Ellie was already pulling out her phone, her trembling fingers poised above the keys when the man stirred.

"No. No hospitals," he said, rough and gravelly, almost as if he hadn't spoken for days, and looked up.

The first thing she noticed was that his eyes were very blue, and the second was that under the scraggly hair and grime was a very, very good looking man.

Her breath caught. For a second, all Ellie could think was _wow. _


End file.
